Promise
by thesandersonsisters
Summary: Shelby x Juliette friendship. Alternate version/ending of Shelby & Juliette's conversation in episode 6. Requested by an anon from Tumblr. My first Higher Ground fic, so sorry if it's a bit rough. Rated K-Plus for minor foul language & possible triggering event.


With her back facing the door, Juliette hugs the blankets tighter around herself when she hears footsteps outside of the dorm. Sucking in a breath when the door slams, she prays that it's not Hannah again, who'd sat for nearly a half hour while she pretended to sleep. Juliette had heard everything; That Peter may need to send her away if she can't improve. That her troubles may be out of Horizon's capability of helping. The thought terrifies Juliette. Where would she go? Home? With _her_? Wouldn't everything just get worse with her?

Her eyes quickly shut when she hears someone clear their throat.

_Please don't be Hannah._

"Cut the act. You're not sleeping."

Juliette immediately relaxes, realizing who the voice belongs to. She's not much happier to have Shelby hovering over her now, but she'd prefer her over Hannah.

"I _said_ you're NOT SLEEPING." Shelby's voice cuts through the silence of the room like a blade. Juliette still doesn't move, hoping that Shelby will leave.

She hears her walk closer to the bed.

"Wanna smoke?"

"No." She responds quickly, hugging her teddy bear closer to her chest. Her wrist hurts and the bandages make her skin itchy.

"Good, they're bad for you."

The bed jostles as Shelby sits down on the other side of the mattress. Sighing, she pulls a lighter from her shirt pocket.

"So what's this all about anyways? Finally met your match in the 'Be Thin To Win Competition'?

"I don't wanna talk about it." Juliette mumbles, staring at the wall. She wants Shelby to leave her alone; She wants everyone to leave her alone.

"Two words," Shelby says, pulling the unlit cigarette from her mouth. "Get a grip."

"Make that three" she says, realizing her mistake. She puts the cigarette back between her lips and attempts to light it.

"You don't understand." Juliette tells her. She feels empty; too tired to even roll over and look at Shelby.

"So enlighten me."

"Something happened to me."

Shelby mentally rolls her eyes before taking the cigarette out of her mouth again. She's pissed off; She has to deal with Queenie's usual whining, and now her damn lighter won't work. "Was it a good thing, or a bad thing?" She speaks as if she's talking to a 4-year-old.

"A life-altering thing."

"Great. So your life's _'altered'_." She's being short now, frustrated with the younger girl. "Like I can really see some improvement here; You're still acting like the same old 'Poor me twig' like you always do."

"They're gonna take her away."

Shelby shifts on the bed so that she's facing Juliette, really looking at her for the first time since entering their dorm. Juliette's curled on her side with scratches on her face and hands. Her hair's a mess and she's clutching that ratty bear like usual. Shelby can only see the side of Juliette's face, who's still turned away from her, but notices the empty expression. Juliette never looks like this; She's always cheerful.

"'_They' _who? _'She' _who?" She asks, tossing the lighter and unlit cigarette on the floor.

"The girl I found," Juliette mutters. "My friend."

Sucking in a breath to avoid laughing, Shelby rolls her eyes, "Your _friend_." Juliette's really lost it this time. "Listen Jules; I've seen the dead. Once they're dead, they're no longer your friend."

"You don't understand." Juliette replies sharply. Why is Shelby even here? Isn't she supposed to be on group kitchen duty? "Just go away and leave me alone."

"Ehhh, there it is: That new Life-Altered Juliette." Shelby replies sarcastically. It's clear that she's not going anywhere and this makes Juliette angry.

"Why are you in my face." Juliette snaps, rolling over to look at Shelby. She feels herself become more frustrated when she sees Shelby smiling at her mockingly.

"Because I take joy in provoking people," Shelby squints at the younger girl before continuing. "Call it a vice, call it a virtue."

They remain silent for several moments, staring at each other before Juliette speaks, hugging her bear tighter. "I'm a mess. Why am I a mess?"

She feels her eyes being to tear up and quickly rolls over so that she's not staring at Shelby. The last thing she wants right now is Shelby to make fun of her for crying.

The blonde remains silent for a moment before speaking, "That's why we're here."

Juliette doesn't move for minutes and if Shelby didn't know any better, she would have thought that the girl fell asleep.

She hears a quiet sniffle come from Juliette, watches as the brunette pulls the blankets up to her chin and curls farther into herself. As much as Shelby enjoys insulting her, she doesn't enjoy seeing Juliette in actual pain.

"Why are you crying?" Shelby asks, trying to be gentle. She really doesn't know how to comfort people. No one had ever comforted her; they just used her. Abused her. Ignored her.

"Peter might send me away," Juliette chokes out, roughly wiping tears from her cheeks. "He doesn't know if it's safe for me to be at Horizon anymore."

Shelby sucks in a breath; she's at a loss for words. Peter's actually considering sending Juliette away? Sure, she's bratty and self-centered at times, but Shelby can't imagine Juliette not being there. She's been at Horizon since Shelby first arrived. She's always there to whine when Katherine forces them from their beds early in the morning for hikes, and to complain about how horrible the cafeteria's food is.

Shelby thinks back to the first time she'd found Juliette in the bathroom; Realized why she was here.

_She'd been at Horizon for a little over 2 weeks, glad to be away from her step-father and off the streets, but terrified for her sister. The people here were annoying; they were always talking about their feelings and other shit that caused Shelby to want to rip her hair out._

_It was less than a half-hour after the lunch period had ended, and Shelby was wandering the campus. When she saw Peter across the lawn talking with another student, Shelby hurried up the steps to her dorm and quietly ducked inside; There was no way she was getting into a conversation with him now. He seemed to always want to talk when he saw Shelby._

_She didn't notice it at first, the quiet crying and coughing muffled by the barrier of the bathroom door. But when she did, Shelby approached the door slowly, pressing her ear to the wood. More coughing and crying; the sound of someone retching._

_Throwing the door open, Shelby found the brunette hunched over the toilet; One hand holding back her long hair, and the other gripping the end of a toothbrush._

_Juliette gasped as she turned quickly, dropping her hair and pulling the toothbrush from her mouth, a shocked expression on her tear-stained face. But once she saw that the person at the door was the new girl, and not a counselor or Kat, Juliette's face crumbled._

"_I can't do it," She sobbed, bringing her free hand up to press against her mouth, as if what she had just said was something terrible. And to Juliette, it was._

"Where will they send you?" Shelby asks, still shocked.

"I d-don't know." Juliette's really crying now, and she can't stop the tears. She turns and buries her face into her pillow; The pillow smells like Horizon, not like home. She's forgotten what home smells like, and she really doesn't want to remember any time soon. "I don't want to go home," She chokes.

Shelby lifts her hand and hesitates over Juliette's arm, before dropping it into her lap again. She feels awkward; she doesn't have much knowledge in consoling people. The only experience she has is when she used to comfort her little sister after nightmares.

"I, um," She tries, but no words come to mind. She doesn't know what to say. Sighing, she decides to do the only thing she knows how to; What she did for her sister.

Cautiously, Shelby lays back on the bed in the empty space next to Juliette, being careful not to touch her. Juliette sucks in a breath when she feels the mattress move; She had expected Shelby to leave.

The brunette hesitates before lifting her face from the pillow, turning to face the other girl.

"What are you doing?" She whispers hoarsely, wiping away tears and tucking a hand beneath her cheek.

Shelby shrugs. "Why are we whispering?" She asks back.

The corner of Juliette's mouth twitches, but she's too tired to smile. "I don't want to go home," She repeats. "I can't go back to my mother. Everything will just get bad again."

"Peter won't send you home," Shelby tells her.

"How do you know?" Juliette asks, on the verge of tears again.

"I won't let him." Shelby sighs, staring at the younger girl's despondent expression. As much as she's annoyed by Juliette, Shelby would be damned before she let Peter release Juliette to her mother.

Juliette's quiet for several moments, before quietly saying "Promise?"

"Cross my heart promise" Shelby whispers back, cracking a smile as she motions her finger over her chest.

Juliette's mouth twitches again, and she looks down at the teddy bear still clutched against her chest. She plays with it's ear before hesitantly looking up at Shelby again. She moves closer to the blonde next to her, fully expecting some form of protest. But when none comes, she rests her head heavily against Shelby's shoulder, whispering "Thanks" as her heavy eyes flutter shut.

"Any time, Queenie." Shelby says, wrapping her arm around Juliette.

When Hannah enters the dorm of the Cliffhanger girls a half hour later, in search of Shelby who'd never shown up again after being sent to speak with Juliette, she pauses at the door. She smiles softly at the sight of the girls curled against each other in Juliette's bed. She pulls a blanket off an unused mattress and drapes it over Shelby's sleeping form before quietly leaving the room. Maybe Shelby and Juliette are better friends than everyone had thought.


End file.
